Blood tests are back (cringe)

[sam1986]

I requested calcium which is normal, but I have a vitamin d which is 16nmol/L which is low and my thyroid peroxidase antibody level is just shocking 1000 lu/mL (<35) . So hey go, google was right I have post partum thydroitis and my body is killing my thyroid! What can I do to calm those antibodies down?

[Hidden]

A lot of people say following a gluten free diet calms the antibodies down. I don't know much about this, but I'm sure others will advise. X

[Issy]

Some people say that taking thyroxin allows the thyroid antibodies to calm down.

[merissa]

I too have high antibodies, it seems you can not remove antibodies as they need to be managed, these are what are causing autoimmune d, however the answers above are correct indeed. Try and cut out gluten see if that helps. X

[Marz]

....take Selenium too along with all the other supplements suggested on this forum to support good conversion of T4 to T3. Often lacking in Hashimotos patients.

VitD often LOW in auto-immune diseases. Getting it up to optimal will certainly help you feel better. It will act as an anti-inflammatory agent within the gut lining too - where often immune issues start.

grassrootshealth.com is a good place to start with regard to doses to take based on your D3 blood tests.

Good Luck !........

[sam1986 in reply to Marz]

I suspect the gp is going to put me on a high dosage course of vit D as its very low and he's requested to see me. The nhs doesn't use Colecalciferol unless the vit d deficiency is severe. Funny you mention about the gut, before all this started my stomach was very bloated and I decided to cut bread out of my diet. Now all this is happening to me. I'm going gluten free, I'm also requesting to be screened for celiac disease as I've never been able to cope with gluten since having children and that is also an autoimmune disease. That could also be the reason why my vit D levels are low. X

[Moggie in reply to sam1986]

If you do request a coeliac test then you MUST eat gluten/wheat for at least six weeks before or it wont be worth doing the test as it will come back negative.

coeliac.org.uk/coeliac-disease

Moggie x

[Marz in reply to Moggie]

....great minds think alike - x......forget the next line ! x

[Moggie in reply to Marz]

"and fools seldom differ" - don't think that applies to us though Marz.lol.

Moggie x

[Marz in reply to Moggie]

...yep didn't think it applied to us ! - hence said 'forget the next line !' Funny language this English - and yes Greek is worse ! When is it a command/imperative/question etc.

M X

[Moggie in reply to Marz]

Brain fog strikes again Marz - I thought you meant that you have forgotten the next line - or maybe I just need to go back to school to learn to read again.lol.

Moggie x

[Marz in reply to Moggie]

....good to chat ! M x

[Moggie in reply to Marz]

Ditto

Moggie x

[Marz in reply to sam1986]

...think you are on the right track ! For testing for coeliac they need you to be on wheat ! - although I have read that in the States they do not as it can exacerbate things. I have Crohns and had loads of surgery over the years so am well versed in guts should you require any advice/suggestions.

Just be aware that GP's seem to give you VitD with calcium I believe. I think you need pure VitD to get the dose high enough to improve your levels.

How is your B12 - it's absorbed in the terminal ileum - so with gut issues it can often be low. Needs to be at TOP of the range.

[sam1986 in reply to Marz]

Oh I'm not completely gluten free, I only cut the bread out. It's quite hard be gluten free, it's in most things! If I am though the doctor will prescribe me gluten free food which will help me. My bone profile which measures calcium was normal surprisingly. All this has only been going on for 18 weeks at the most though so I suppose the damaged will show up later in life x

[Moggie in reply to sam1986]

If your GP does put you on a high powered VitD it will probably be Cholecalciferol which does not contain calcium (even though it sounds like it does) and is usually 50,000iu which you take for two weeks (well this is what my GP gave me). My levels then went from 12.5 to 154.

You should be fine doing a coeliac test if you have only cut out bread.

Moggie x

[sam1986 in reply to Moggie]

Yea that's what he's putting me on. My vit d levels were 16. Could this be contributing to me feeling weak and off balance? I'm also going to make him test my iron levels. Don't know how I've been getting out of bed in the mornings x

[Moggie in reply to sam1986]

After I had my first lot of high powered VitD I felt wonderful. I had more energy, less aches and pains and was almost back to my old self so you should notice a big difference, especially with the weakness - you'll be leaping out of bed in no time.lol.

Definitely ask for your ferritin levels to be checked as, if low, these can also make you feel very tired, as can low B12.

You don't say how much levothyroxine you are taking, or if you are taking any at all but if your vitD, B12 or iron are not at optimum levels then the levo will not be working to its full potential.

Moggie x

[Marz in reply to sam1986]

...let us know how the test goes....once you know that it is coeliac then being dedicated is the only way forward. As is the case with Hashimotos......

Good Book - The Gut and Psychcology Syndrome by Dr Natasha Campbell-McBride. Also the excellent website of

www'drmyhill.co.uk

Lots of reading but provides answers that docs do not have the time to explain....

[sam1986 in reply to Marz]

Thanks I will do but I already know that's what it is and I suspect I've had a gluten allergy for a few years after the birth of my first child and its slowly led to becoming hypo x

[Marz in reply to sam1986]

....if that's the case Sam then you will have to cut out more than just bread....

Just be aware that you can sometimes test negative and still have an allergy to wheat !

[shaws Administrator]

Dr Toft, ex president of the British Thyroid Association recommends levothyroxine if you have antibodies to 'nip things in the bud'.

[sam1986 in reply to shaws]

Levothyroxine only treats the thyroid though? How does it reduce the antibodies?

[shaws Administrator in reply to sam1986]

This is an explanation of antibodies

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/about_...

and this is an excerpt by Dr Toft, ex of the British Thyroid Association:-

2 I often see patients who have an elevated TSH but normal T4. How should I be managing them?

The combination of a normal serum T4 and raised serum TSH is known as subclinical hypothyroidism. If measured, serum T3 will also be normal. Repeat the thyroid function tests in two or three months in case the abnormality represents a resolving thyroiditis.2

But if it persists then antibodies to thyroid peroxidase should be measured. If these are positive – indicative of underlying autoimmune thyroid disease – the patient should be considered to have the mildest form of hypothyroidism.

In the absence of symptoms some would simply recommend annual thyroid function tests until serum TSH is over 10mU/l or symptoms such as tiredness and weight gain develop. But a more pragmatic approach is to recognise that the thyroid failure is likely to become worse and try to nip things in the bud rather than risk loss to follow-up.

Treatment should be started with levothyroxine in a dose sufficient to restore serum TSH to the lower part of its reference range. Levothyroxine in a dose of 75-100µg daily will usually be enough.

[Heloise]

How much selenium can I take? Can it reduce antibodies? The vast majority of experts agree that a good starting therapeutic dose of 200 micrograms (mcg) has positive effects on both the thyroid and the immune system. At this dose, selenium significantly reduces TPO and TgAb antibodies; up to 55-86% and 35-92% respectively. Attainment of euthyroid status (after long term therapeutic dosing) has also been reported. It is important to note that selenium supplementation, even in those with a sufficient selenium level, will still enhance immune and thyroid response. Research data shows that a dose of less than 200mcg is not sufficient and will heighten iodine deficiency, goiter, and AIT attacks.

This excerpt is from the STTM website: stopthethyroidmadness.com/s...

[sam1986 in reply to Heloise]

Where can I get this from? X

[Marz in reply to sam1986]

Wassen Selenium also has added VitD along with Vitamins A C and E. Stocked in many good chemists.....